The present disclosure relates to exhaust processors and more particularly to exhaust processors including a soot filter to collect particulate matter from a flow of exhaust gas.
The passages in a soot filter can become occluded by particulate matter collected in the soot filter during use of the soot filter. Occlusion of the passages of the soot filter generates a pressure drop across the soot filter. This pressure drop may be felt by a source of exhaust gas, such as an internal combustion engine, as xe2x80x9cbackpressure.xe2x80x9d To reduce this backpressure, the soot filter can be regenerated by burning off the particulate matter collected therein.
According to the present disclosure, an exhaust processor includes an emission abatement device with some soot filters. The soot filters are configured to collect particulate matter from exhaust gas flowing through the emission abatement device.
The exhaust processor includes a filter regenerator configured to supply hot regenerative fluid to burn off particulate matter collected by the soot filters to regenerate the soot filters. The filter regenerator includes an outlet temperature sensor to sense an outlet temperature associated with an outlet end of each soot filter. The exhaust processor uses the outlet temperature in a feedback loop to control the flow rate and temperature of the regenerative fluid during regeneration of the soot filter associated with the temperature sensor.
The filter regenerator is configured to regenerate the soot filters in sequence so that each soot filter takes a turn at regeneration. Only one of the soot filters is regenerated each time that the filter regenerator detects that the soot filters have collected particulate matter in excess of a predetermined limit (i.e., when a regeneration event occurs). Stated otherwise, only a first of the soot filters is regenerated when a first regeneration event occurs. Only a second of the soot filters is regenerated when a second regeneration event occurs, and so on until all soot filters have been regenerated. After they all have been regenerated, the filter regenerator tarts over with the first of the soot filters at the next regeneration event.
Additional features and advantages of the apparatus will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description exemplifying the best mode as presently perceived.